Fix is in for online gaming

Casinos are betting on sarcasm to dissuade South Africans from online gambling as they attempt to protect their share of a R16.5-billion industry.

Though widely practised, online casino gambling is illegal in South Africa and can carry hefty fines and even prison sentences.

The Department of Trade and Industry last week gave gaming websites and those behind them a tongue-lashing and the country's legal gambling houses got in on the act with an advertising campaign in major newspapers.

"New business model - be taken advantage of today," read an advert by the Casino Association of SA in Business Day.

"Your inaction could land you a R10-million fine or 10-year prison sentence. What an unbelievable deal!" it read.

Casinos have been under pressure in the past two years as weak economic growth and the rapidly rising costs of essentials such as fuel, electricity and food reduce consumer spending.

Revenue from casino gambling grew a meagre 0.6% in 2013, according to a report released by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers in November last year.

Over the next three years revenues from legal gambling are expected to muddle along at an average of 3.9%, according to PwC gambling industry expert Nikki Forster.

But even this could be under threat as more and more gamblers choose to wager at home rather than in casinos.

The departmentsaid last week that there was no intention to propose the legalisation of online casino gambling and even called the possibility "not desirable".

"There are a number of social ills associated with gambling, especially online gambling, which occurs in unregulated and unsupervised locations," the department said.

Substantial revenue is at stake for the state, as legal gambling taxes and levies totalled more than R2.2-billion in 2013.